Ros Canter and Izilot DHI. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Very nearly one year ago to the day, Ros Canter rode into the main arena at the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials on her 2023 Pau champion Izilot DHI on as near to a sure thing as you can get. She and the then-eleven-year-old had overcome his notorious spookiness to place top of the pack in the first phase; had added just two seconds of time over a tough cross-country track to retain their lead; found themselves, enviably, with two fences and a tiny smattering of time in hand going into the final phase. Luhmühlen’s showjumping is one of the two toughest in the world at the five-star level, but Izilot – or Isaac, at home – had already bested the other one at Pau, and he hadn’t had a single rail down in an international since his first CCI2*-S in 2019.
But what is a five-star if not the most efficient and effective way to put all your hopes, your dreams, your doubts, your expectations and your statistics into a blender and mangle them into something you hadn’t even thought of imagining? Ros and Isaac were just three fences from home when their first rail dropped. Then the next went. That was okay: they had those two to spare, and all they had to do was jump out of the double cleanly, and over the final fence, and the 2024 Luhmühlen title would be theirs.
They did – but as Ros and the packed audience made to celebrate, it felt as though time stopped for just a fraction of a second. Or, perhaps more accurately, the time hadn’t stopped. Ros had tipped over the time allowed by five seconds – four more than she had to spare. Those 2 time penalties meant she had to settle for fourth place, and yielded the crown to Belgium’s Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and her homebred Hooney d’Arville, who’d jumped an exceptional clear to move up from third.
Ros Canter and Izilot DHI. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Later on that season, Ros admitted that the loss of the win had played on her mind. And on her return, she vowed, she’d learn from what had happened and ensure she and Alex Moody’s strange but ultra-talented gelding got the result they deserved.
Today, that redemption arc was completed. Ros and Isaac cantered into the arena in second place – a placing they’ve held since the first phase, in which they scored a 26, and didn’t lose when adding a scant 2.8 time penalties over yesterday’s enormously influential cross-country course. This time, they easily popped over each of the fences; didn’t lose any focus down the busy grandstand side of the arena; and gave Ros her second clear of the day after her sterling first round on MHS Seventeen.
It hadn’t been a foregone conclusion – even without last year’s plot twist on the brain, today’s showjumping had already caused considerable issues, with 31 fences falling over the previous 23 rounds. And even jumping clear and inside the tight 82 second time wouldn’t mean a win unless some seriously bad luck befell two-phase leaders Laura Collett and London 52, here on a mission to regain their 2023 title and add their fourth five-star win from as many starts.
Ros Canter and Izilot DHI. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
But hey: hopes, dreams, doubts, meet blender. Laura and London 52 are always a confidence-boosting pair to watch over the poles, and their round today was no exception – until it was. The first part of the influential treble combination at 10A fell, thuddingly, and that was that. The streak was over; Ros Canter was the Luhmühlen champion.
“I’m a bit surprised, really,” admits Ros. “I’d have been absolutely delighted with second! But we’re just so thrilled that the horse has come out again with confidence. He hasn’t been an easy character, but he is a really, really genuine horse – and sometimes I think some people think he’s just a bit naughty, but actually, he’s just really genuine and genuinely spooky.”
While she might be surprised at the sequence of events that led to her move-up to the win, the sea change in her own round is less of a shock – because it comes after a lot of reflection and system changes to make it all work this year.
“I feel like last year, I lost my first place and I blamed myself, and so I worked quite hard on how I presented myself today and the mental side behind it. I changed a few things and I was more relaxed today, and I gave him a much better ride, so I’m just delighted,” she says.
Those changes, she says, largely centred around time management – a tricky thing to get right over the course of Luhmühlen’s lightning-fast Sunday schedule, which puts the five-star’s showjumping less than an hour after the horse inspection, leaving limited time to plan and prepare.
“Last year, I felt like I got caught out by the timings,” she explains. “We jump a lot earlier here than we normally do. Normally, if you’re in the top ten of a five star, you jump in the afternoon session, so you walk the course, and I might watch a few, and I might rewalk the course in the lunchtime break, and then go and get my head into it and so on. Last year, I felt that it caught me out that it was all a bit more of a rush.
“So that’s the biggest change I made here – last night, I just put time into having a plan ready for this morning. I like to walk [the course] three or four times if I can, and I didn’t manage that last year – suddenly [the class] started and I hadn’t even got changed yet. So I made sure this year, straight after the trot up I went up, I got changed, and then I came back. I was very much ready for it, which worked a lot better. I just can’t rush stuff like that.”
Last year, she continues, she also travelled down with other people, and this time, she knew she needed to eke out some time by herself to get her head in the game.
“I’m definitely the type of person that needs to put work into the mental side of things. I need to prepare myself for a round,” she says. “Today, I knew after [MHS Seventeeen]’s round that Isaac was going to be coming down [from the stables], and so I went and locked myself in a loo and just rewatched a video that I was proud of, and just really got the plan in my head so I felt more relaxed in the warm up.”
Ros Canter and Izilot DHI. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Finally, she says, a bit change for Isaac added to the marginal gains that shapeshifted their final phase result.
“That’s also made a huge difference. He was just in a normal metal gag before, and now he’s in a nathe pelham. He’s got such a long stride that when I used to shorten it, he went slower. Last year I got the time faults, and I just felt I couldn’t compress him very easily, whereas in the nathe pelham, I’m able to get that little bit more spring into the canter. He loves it.”
Even with all her boxes ticked, though, Ros wasn’t immune to the colossal weight of expectation as she entered the ring.
“The pressure was on, not just on from a competition point of view, but the pressure was on me as well. Today, I put pressure on myself, and I thought a lot about how I wanted to perform today – everything was geared up to try and pull off that result.”
Ros Canter and Izilot DHI: your 2025 Luhmühlen champions. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Now, Ros can add a Luhmühlen title to her Badminton wins this year and in 2023 with Lordships Graffalo; a Burghley title and Paris team gold last year, and the European Championships team and individual gold in 2022, also with Lordships Graffalo; a Pau victory with Izilot DHI in 2023; and the individual World Championship title in 2018 with Allstar B. She also takes home an educational 19th place with the inexperienced MHS Seventeen, who picked up 20 penalties on course yesterday but of whom she says she’s “very, very proud.”
How’s the view from the top, anyway?
“I can’t believe it, really – I didn’t think when I was growing up that I was ever going to do anything like this,” she says. “It’s hard to believe that I keep doing it, but I’m just lucky that I’ve got horses like him, aren’t I?”
Sam Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
British-based Kiwi Sam Lissington took advantage of the open door left by Laura and London 52 to move up into second place with Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ, with whom she jumped a clear round that looked very nearly jump-off speed – but almost saw them tick over the time allowed nonetheless.
The reason? Sooty’s just not a very big horse, and Sam had to race the seconds to make it home without penalties when horses with a longer stride might have looked steadier when covering more ground.
Having just the one horse to ride this week, though, helped Sam to harness the strengths of the little fourteen-year-old.
“He’s very small, and I’ve gotten used to it now, but it’s a lot easier when I’m just riding him by himself – when I’m riding my other five-star horse with him [at the same show] he really does feel very small,” laughs Sam. “The jumps feel bigger with him than they do with other horses.”
But, she says, “we don’t have problems in the combinations, and we don’t have problems making time. He does, though, put in a lot of effort over the fences, and so my strategy normally is to be a little bit more patient, which I couldn’t afford to do today. So it was a bit of a balance between galloping around and then adding a little bit of patience at every fence, and then trying to get him up in the air with enough scope. I’m glad we could execute [that plan today].”
If she hadn’t, she explains that it would never have been down to a lack of talent or honesty on the gelding’s part.
“He’s so, so obedient and rideable – like, he’s a teacher’s pet, and he always has been, and he’s a very much a yes man,” she says. “But almost to the point where, if you make a mistake, that’s a mistake, because he just does what he’s told. He’s never going to take over and do something – for sure, he’s got incredible footwork, and he’ll pat the ground and fix a mistake, from that point of view. But basically, if you make a mistake, it’s your fault.”
This result – Sam’s best yet at five-star – comes in the thick of a purple patch for the 33-year-old, who recently made history by taking the top three spots in a CCI4*-L class at Royal Jump in France.
“It’s a reflection of the cumulative effect of years and years and years of work,” she says. “Like, this horse – I found him as a five-year-old with his owner, Pip McCarroll, in New Zealand, and nine years later we’re on the other side of the world. We knew he’d be a good horse, and I’m so glad I’ve been able to show the world just what a horse is – but it’s not just that. To show the world, we’ve had to shift our lives from New Zealand, start a whole new business, survive Covid whilst trying to start a business, build a team of horses to the point that you can ride with confidence like that – it’s just huge, isn’t it? It’s not just the result, it’s the last fifteen years of work that’s led up to it. We’re riding a wave, and I just hope the wave continues and we take the learnings and build on them.”
Laura Collett and London 52. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
While Laura Collett and London 52 would have preferred to add a fourth win from four five-star starts to their record, their third-place finish is still an incredibly impressive addition to their extraordinary track record at this level. Their solitary pole late on course today represents the only penalties they add to their first-phase score of 25.4, which was the best of the class and remained so after a fault-free cross-country round yesterday.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” admits Laura. “I think anyone in that position would be disappointed, more for the horse than anything else. He jumped amazing, and didn’t really deserve to have a rail, but it’s the sport, and I’ve said all along, he doesn’t owe me anything. So for me, the main thing is he’s coming home in one piece, and he’s yet again performed and showed everyone what a spectacular horse he is. I’m so lucky to ride him.”
“It’s just ironic,” she continues, “that the last time he was here, he had a fence in hand and didn’t need it, and this year, he had nothing in hand and had a rail!”
Laura also finished seventh with the fourteen-year-old Hester, a former ride of fellow Brit Alex Bragg and Kiwi Jonelle Price. They added two rails and 0.8 time penalties to their 1.2 time penalties yesterday to finish on a score of 43.9.
Laura’s two rides – rangy, modern-looking London 52 and the more solid, ‘traditional’ looking Hester prove that there’s no true stamp of an event horse. It is, she explains, much more about what’s inside.
“For me, the most important thing is their heart. Really, you can have the most talented horse in the world, but if they don’t want to do it, they’re not going to do it, or they’re going to let you down when it really matters. With London, he doesn’t have the best conformation; he doesn’t have the best technique over a fence; as a young horse, he wasn’t ever really built for cross country – but he’s got a heart of gold, and he’s got the will to win, and that’s what’s turned him into, I personally think, one of the greatest event horses around.”
Of Hester, who she took on at the start of the pandemic, she says, “I’m super proud of her – the way she’s improved from here last year, she’s grown in confidence. I felt she grew in confidence here at the event last year, and she’s just built on that, which I think is a credit to the course designer, to be able to bring a green horse here and have such a good experience that they come back a year later feeling like a true five-star horse. I feel very lucky to have more than one amazing five-star horse in my string.”
Cosby Green and Highly Suspicious. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
British-based US rider Cosby Green closed out a career-defining week, finishing in the top ten with both Highly Suspicious, who jumped clear and one second over the time allowed to take fourth place, and Jos UFO de Quidam, who tipped the first part of the treble combination to take eighth.
“I’m just really pleased and excited and happy, and just really happy for the team and my support crew and everyone that works their butt off for me – it’s just amazing to be able to produce that result for them,” says Cosby, who has spent the last two seasons with Tim and Jonelle Price in Dorset, and who has obviously inherited their penchant for easy speed – she finished inside the time with one horse, and just one second over with the other on yesterday’s track, which helped her climb from 18th and 36th with them.
“This is always kind of the expectation, to try to finish as close to dressage score as you can,” says Cosby. “I know these horses so well, and so that was always kind of the intention. You always hope, but you never know if it’ll really happen or not. So we’ve trained and prepared for that to be the case; we’ve been on the fitness; we’ve been practicing away – and it’s just nice when it comes together.”
Lea Siegl and DSP Fighting Line. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Austria’s Lea Siegl had an inauspicious start to the day with the five-star debutant Van Helsing P, who dropped from tenth to fifteenth after a surprising and uncharacteristic stop at fence 7 and three rails, but returned with her Tokyo Olympic partner DSP Fighting Line to deliver a classy clear inside the time, which moved them up from eighth place to a final fifth. It’s another five-star placing in the bag for the eighteen-year-old stalwart, who finished sixth at Pau last year and will now bow out of the sport.
“I’m really happy with him,” says Lea. “He tried really hard today, and I always can count on him. He never lets me down. He’s just a very special horse, and he’s 18, so I planned that this is his last competition – and it was a wonderful last competition with him.”
Now, she says, ‘Fighty’ “will go back to Austria, to the owners, and enjoy the fields. He’s been with me for 10 years. We went through Juniors, Young Riders, and up to Senior levels to the Olympic Games. He’s just a very special horse for me and I owe him quite a lot. I learned it all from him.”
Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Carlitos Quidditch K. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Germany’s Malin Hansen-Hotopp and Carlitos Quidditch K brought it home for the host nation with an excellent clear inside the time to climb to sixth place. That completes a week that saw them start in third place after a 28.9 dressage, then drop down to twelfth following a MIM activation on course yesterday. For Malin, having another result at this level to add to the fourth place they earned at Kentucky last year is an enormously emotional moment.
“To have this horse to go to Kentucky last year and came out with the fourth place, and now a sixth place here, I can’t be more proud of him. I think that’s just special,” says Malin, who hopes to be selected for the European Championships again this year – a goal that looks like a very achievable one, particularly considering their win in the CCI4*-L at Blenheim in 2022. But beyond that, she’s dreaming of her next five-star start.
“Yesterday, because it feels so easy for him, I was like, ‘okay, maybe we can go to Badminton next year,’” she grins.
Isabel English and Cil Dara Dallas. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
British-based Australian Isabel English finished ninth with the rangy grey Cil Dara Dallas — a horse with so much leg to him that it’s like two of her pony-sized former five-star partner, Feldale Mouse, stacked on top of one another in a trenchcoat. She piloted the ten-year-old to a clear round with 1.6 time penalties that boosted them up the leaderboard from fourteenth into the top ten, following a clear round yesterday with 8.8 time penalties.
Robbie Kearnes and Chance Encounter. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Ireland’s Robbie Kearnes and Chance Encounter rounded out the top ten, adding just one rail to a weeklong tally that saw them start in 37th place on a 39.2 and move up to eleventh after adding just 2 time penalties yesterday.
Mike Winter and El Mundo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Mike Winter and El Mundo took eleventh place for Canada with a super clear round, adding just 0.8 time penalties and moving up from the 15th place they’d claimed when cruising home with 11.6 time penalties yesterday. That completes a weeklong climb up the rankings from initial 22nd for the pair.
The top ten in Luhmühlen’s 2025 CCI5*.
Julia Krajewski and Uelzener’s Nickel. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
In this afternoon’s suddenly very stormy CCI4*-s, two-phase leaders Julia Krajewski and her Paris Olympics partner — and Boekelo and Aachen winner — Uelzener’s Nickel got the job done in fine style with a faultless clear round in the pouring rain, securing them the win and the German National Championship title.
“He’s eleven now, but the feeling he’s always getting stronger and stronger and better and better,” says Julia. “To be honest, Luhmühlen wasn’t our luckiest competition so far. Two years ago, I believe he had two down, and last year, one down, and but he’s just the most genuine horse, and I think he really learns every time he goes out, and he always wants to do well. He would never think of not doing something right.”
“I’ve had many different horses and characters, and he’s maybe, somehow the most genuine, honest one,” she continues. “If I think of [Tokyo Olympic individual champion] Amande de b’Neville, I think she was always next level, and I always knew she was a superstar, I only have to get it right and I have to get on her side — but with Nickel, he’s just so, so willing. He’s a very sweet, nice character, and you always feel like you want to protect him. I thought about doing the five-star and then back and forth, back and forth. Maybe he’s not quite strong enough physically yet, because mentally, he would do everything. And then I feel if they are so willing, you, it’s your job to not jump on the fast track, but to protect the physical side. So I’m very happy I did it like this, and I’m so proud of my horse. And also, I said it a few times this week, but his owner, Professor Bernd Heike, who bought him for me last summer [when he was put up for sale after the Olympics], he’s here, and it’s the first time since 2019 that he made it to a show. He couldn’t see Mandy win in Tokyo because of COVID, and he’s 90 years old, so to win this for him is super special.”
Nickel, who began eventing just four years ago and was initially with Julia as a junior horse for one of her students, hasn’t always been an obvious superstar, but hasn’t yet hit the limit of what he can do — and Julia’s decision to spend her winters based in the foothills of Rome at the yard of her boyfriend, Pietro Roman, has helped to bring his string along so he can head for the topmost level at his peak.
“He always tries, and he would do when stepping up a level. It’s not a problem that he wouldn’t do cross country, but it’s a little bit, think sometimes you go a bit ahead of the physical strengths,” says Julia. “I really feel he’s growing [in strength] — like every three, four, five months, someone comes and says, ‘oh, he got more strong again’, and he feels stronger again. That’s really cool. In Rome, we have a hill where we can work on — they go into the arena, they go downhill and to the stable, back up, and I think that makes quite a difference to get the basic strength into them. And then it’s patience. With horses, you can do a lot, but you can’t speed up time.”
Emma Brüssau and Dark Desire GS. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
26-year-old Emma Brüssau finished second in both the class itself and the German National Championship with her longtime partner, the sixteen-year-old Dark Desire GS. They’d begun their week in fifth place on a score of 34.1, and then climbed up to second after delivering one of just four clear rounds inside the time on yesterday’s cross-country track. Today, they added just one second, or 0.4 time penalties, to secure the Vice Championship.
Australia’s Andrew Cooper and Sharvalley Thunder took third place in the CCI4*-S, retaining the place they’d earned yesterday with a clear inside the time this afternoon. The pair have travelled over from Australia to gain experience at European competitions ahead of next year’s World Equestrian Games.
And so, for now, that’s it from us from Luhmühlen — thanks for joining us on the ride. We’ll be back on German turf in just two weeks time for CHIO Aachen; until then, Go Eventing.
The top ten in the Meßmer Trophy CCI4*-S.
Longines Luhmühlen CCI5* (Germany): [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Timing & Scoring] [H&C+ Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
